Movie review: 'Fast Five'

David Germain

Friday

Apr 29, 2011 at 2:00 AM

If the "Fast Five" filmmakers had thrown in giant, shape-shifting robots, talking apes and some vampires, the fifth installment in "The Fast and the Furious" franchise would hardly have been more outlandish.

If the "Fast Five" filmmakers had thrown in giant, shape-shifting robots, talking apes and some vampires, the fifth installment in "The Fast and the Furious" franchise would hardly have been more outlandish.

That said, the movie will get you where you're going.

Opting for a blowout of a movie with no restraints whatsoever, director Justin Lin wisely adds former wrestling superstar Dwayne Johnson as a relentless federal agent to go toe-to-toe with Vin Diesel's driving ace, who's again on the run along with his sister (Jordana Brewster) and his cop-turned-outlaw pal (Paul Walker).

Any thwack from the inevitable Diesel-Johnson slugfest might kill an ordinary human, but these characters basically are comic-book figures, so they're able to wale the innards out of each other and come through with only a cosmetic bruise or two. It's nonsense, but when Hollywood does nonsense right, it can be a lot of fun.

Lin now is far more assured as an action director, crafting stunts and chases that zip along so recklessly you won't much care how utterly impossible they are. Past "Fast and Furious" rowdies such as Tyrese Gibson, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges and Sung Kang join Diesel and company for an "Ocean's Eleven"-style heist romp.

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